K's first dance with antibiotics, Santa Part II, and lots of forward progress (all while moving backwards)...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  9 months and 2 weeks

Family,

And a good Sunday afternoon to you from the Queen City - what a week it's been!  We'll start with Monday, where K had the less than dubious distinction of visiting the Peds for the second time in 3 days.  When we went for her 9 month appointment on Friday the 13th, our doctor noticed that she had fluid in her ears.  However, as she was not in pain, still sleeping well, and not running a fever, the Peds said don't worry about it and call her if anything changes.  With our minds on some of the other feedback we'd received during that visit (as covered in the previous blog), we didn't think much about that bit of information.  After all, K's been very happy lately, and snot/a cold has just been part of the mix in the 3 months she's been in daycare.

Fast forward through the weekend, where K was
incredibly happy on Saturday and great on Sunday as well, although she did have an almost 13 hour sleep during the night.  We took her to daycare on Monday, and all seemed right with the world.  She was a bit sleepy, but we just thought that was part of another cold she was working through (similar to the one that sent us to the ER a few weeks back).  Well, sure enough, at 11:36 AM the Bull's phone rings - Primrose calling.  K has just recorded her first ever 100+ temperature, and consequently she requires immediate evac from the other children.  I happened to be uptown that day, but luckily I was at a good stopping point.  And so I packed up my gear and drove to Primrose, where the sneetch was ALL SMILES and very happy to see me (and hug everyone in an 8 block radius).

The miracle elixir...if you can get her to
swallow it.

Nothing more fun than being naked
at the doctor's office!

We called the nurse at the Peds, and she told us to monitor the sneetch over the course of the evening.  Well, she was fine and dandy that night - slept like a champ - but the next morning something was clearly off.  Jenny noticed that she was pulling on her ears, which was one of the warning signs the nurse had mentioned.  The good news was that she didn't have a temperature (and thank goodness Jenny was home and good with doing the rectal temp - that still FREAKS ME OUT), but she was definitely in pain (and a rather nasty cough had started deep in her chest).  Consequently, we had a 2 PM doctor's appointment, where the doctor confirmed K now had an ear infection.  Whilst not ideal, K was still all smiles at the doctor's office, AND we honestly felt relieved to know that we finally had a potential diagnosis for why her head was tilting (it had been sloping again rather severely over the previous 36-48 hours).  And K has now joined the antibiotics club - she's having her first dance with Amoxicillin!  We have to give her 4 mm every 12 hours, and again I am SO GLAD that Jenny is such a wizard with the dropper.  The first time I tried it solo, I'm pretty sure I almost choked my daughter on pink, viscous liquid (which she promptly spit back in my face).

At this point we're 6 nights in, and I definitely think that it's helping.  She definitely got worse before she got better, but today we've absolutely seen improvement - she's coughing less and eating more, even though she still seems a bit off and tired.  She returned to daycare that Wednesday and had no trouble (or fever) the rest of the week - just a deep cough and a lot of congestion which made it tough for her to take the bottle.  I did get worried on Friday that we might have to give her a bit of Pedialite, but luckily she's regained her appetite today (and ate pretty good yesterday as well).

Speaking of Friday, we had 2 other funny moments.  The first was a phone call we received about 11:30 AM (what is it with that time?) from - you guessed it - Primrose.  K had just received her first "incident report."  They called Jenny (who was relaying this to me), and my first thought as she pinged me was "our daughter bit someone."  Of course, that was followed up by the realization that "she only has 2 teeth - how bad could it have been?"  Well, I was wrong on both fronts, as K was not the instigator but instead the victim of a renegade flying rattle that accidentally whacked her across the forehead whilst she was playing with one of the other kids.  I am happy to report that a) the bruise is minor, b) K is still all smiles, and c) I don't think we'll be suing for assault and battery. :-)  And YES, I did have to take a photo of the "incident report" - too cute!

Hold her and distract her...and suddenly
there is silence in earth and Heaven.

The other activity was tempting fate, but we had to do it - Santa Part II!!!  Santa showed up at Primrose, and JT and I were on-hand to both get her reaction and try for another family photo.  I'm happy to report that this particular session went much, MUCH better.  As it turns out, all you have to do is not hand her to the man in the big red suit but instead let her munch on her teething ring, and all is right with the world.  We also got a chance to meet a few other moms who were there for the same reason, and it was nice to meet the folks who you may some day become good friends with (most of the kids in that class live in Highland Creek, and so it's not a stretch to think that K might go to school with some of those kids for the next 18 years - how crazy is that?).

There were a few other first for K this week.  For starters, we began "dental care" this weekend.  Basically, "dental care" to an infant means you take this tiny little rubber thimble, put it on our index finger, and then move it around the baby's mouth whilst a) you work to ensure she doesn't gag and b) she tries to break you finger in a vice grip.  I am supposed to do it twice a day, but so far one time a day has been my limit - largely because I'm too lazy to wash it unless I'm also washing the bottles at the end of the day.  K - if you're reading this 30 years from now, I am sorry your father was so lazy, and please don't fault me for any cavities you have or had - genetically I've given you very good teeth!  Hopefully that makes up for everything else I've given you to date. :-)

We also started Stage 3 foods this week.  Now honestly, I CANNOT tell much difference in terms of how pureed some of the Stage 3 foods are vs. Stage 2, but I can say that the flavors are HILARIOUS!  We have jars of "chicken noodle nutritious dinner," "spaghetti and meatballs," "rice pilaf with beef stroganoff," and "turkey, vegetables, and rice" - hilarious!   And whilst most of them do actually smell like some conglomeration of their respective titles, I have no lie to tell - none of them really smell good. We were wimps last night when we tried the first jar - sweet potatoes was as far as we were willing to push it. :-)  But she did rice cereal for the first time today, so that was a new item for the books.  she also started Graduate crunchy puffs, which she seems to like.  Apparently they have the dual benefit of helping with gross motor skills, and it is fun to watch her pick them up in her pincer grip.

Lastly, K received her first wrapped Christmas present, this one from one of Jenny's college friends Flowers.  It was a CUTE dress, and we let K have a crack at opening it before we assisted.  She made a valiant effort, and by valiant I mean did an excellent job of eating both the bow and the wrapping paper - not sure how many new germs we introduced, but it sure was cute...

In other news, the biggest item to report is undoubtably the progress made on K's motor skills.  It is INSANE how quickly it's happening, but everyone told us it would go this way.  In the space of a week, K has gone from rolling on occasion to rolling CONSTANTLY in both directions.  She is turning quite effectively, and she can even go from a sitting position to a laying and crawling position.  She does get up on her knees, but so far she hasn't been able to propel herself forward.  Well, on occasion she will catapult herself forward into the arms of some unsuspecting toy, but normally she goes to her belly.  But you can tell she's thinking about it!  She is able to move backwards (especially on the hardwood!), and she has even pushed herself from laying to sitting twice.  We have her next (and I expect final) PT appointment on January 3, and I think it's going to be excellent news (knock on wood)!

I was also going to report that K seems to have dropped her 3rd nap, but at this point I can't confirm that.  She's dropped it the last 2-3 days, but I think today will be a 3 napper (although she's been out for about 2 hours at this point on the current nap, which is CRAZY).  She took a 2.5 hour nap yesterday as well, and I would love for her to drop the 3rd nap, as it will make her schedule much easier for us.  I also think we'll soon make the move to 3 bottles a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), but that's still a ways down the pike.

The last little bit is a tidbit for K when she reads this 30 years down the road.  I have a new favorite song currently called "King and Lionheart" by "Of Monsters and Men," and it sums up Jenny and I to a tee.  K, when you listen to it on whatever the i-Tunes or SoundCloud equivalent is for your time, remember that this song will always make me think of your mother - someone with never-ending strength and patience who is always there to love me, guide me, and support me, holding my hand no matter where the road may go or where it ends.  I know you will be that same "Lionheart" for someone one day, and he will be a very, very lucky fella.

Okay, time to sign off.  Jenny's doing all the house work, and I need to contribute.  We're hosting Christmas for the first time ever this year, and there's plenty to get done between now and the first arrival on Tuesday afternoon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny